Resolution on the Situation in Puerto Rico

The General Assembly of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, at its 17th Congress in Hanoi, Vietnam, having received and considered the report of the Association of American Jurists on the situation in Puerto Rico:

1. Reaffirms that Puerto Rico has been a colony of the United States since it was invaded and occupied by the U.S. on 25 July 1898;

2. Demands that the long-outstanding colonial situation of Puerto Rico be reviewed and discussed in all of its aspects before the General Assembly of the United Nations.

3. Calls upon the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights to investigate, report and make appropriate recommendations concerning allegations that the Puerto Rican patriot Filiberto Ojeda Rios was a victim of extrajudicial execution by agents of the United States.

4. Censures the government of Puerto Rico’s actions in attempting to dismantle the Colegio de Abogados de Puerto Rico, one of the most important institutions defending the rights of the poor and Puerto Rican civil society.

5. Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all Puerto Rican political prisoners held in the jails of the United States.